Information on Poole Pottery please?

Poole Delphis dish

From my post bag:

“I am finding it hard to find info on Poole pottery designs and artists. Is poole pottery always marked Poole on the back?

Who is MA? thats what my piece is marked. When was the Delphis line made and who started that line? “

My Reply:

When you are looking for specific detailed information about an art pottery there are two good things to try: Collectors clubs and Books dedicated to that pottery.

In the case of Poole Pottery there is loads of information around in fact it is possibly the best documented of all art potteries due to the number of enthusiastic collectors. 

 The Book “Poole Pottery” by Hayward and Atterbury has a long list of the decorators and artists with their signatures.  You need the book alongside a picture of the piece and the mark to determine exactly who the artist is. I would need to see a picture of the “MA” signature to be able to help more here.

Another (cheaper) usefull book is “Collecting Poole Pottery” by Robert Prescott-Walker with lots of pictures and background information ( no artist signature lists in this one). Many years ago I attended a several week long course on ceramic identification run by the author of this book and he certainly seemed to know his stuff.

The Poole Collectors club website has forums galleries and reference pages which will help you lots too.

Is Poole Pottery always marked on the back ? I have come across the occasional piece without factory markings but this is relatively rare.

The Delphis line seems to have run from circa 1963 to circa 1979 with the earlier studio range being the most desirable.  According to the Poole Pottery” book, the line was started  from a range of shapes designed by Robert Jefferson, thrown by Guy Sydenham and decorated by Robert Jefferson and Tony Morris”. 

Researching your antiques and vintage items is part of the fun of collecting – Enjoy